“We need kindness more than wisdom,” said Charlie Chaplin. He wasn’t wrong
We live in a world that draws us into a neoliberal capitalist dog-eat-dog philosophy where profit is the goal and the unbridled personal ambition to reach the top is glorified.
But wisdom teaches us that morality, Christian morality certainly, is based on kindness, putting the needs of others above our own; go to the Bible and altruism is consistently understood as the cornerstone of righteous behavior.
Surely Jesus was a fan. He continually combined loving one’s neighbor as himself with the display of kindness and repeatedly showed that the way to salvation is to put the needs of others before your own: “Do others as you do would be done to you ”is certainly the core of what he preached.
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Throughout history, many great thinkers have berated us for being kind if we want to live in a better world. In fact, they have claimed that being able to be kind is not only an indicator of enlightenment, but the path to true happiness as well.
“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” Asked the French philosopher Rousseau; for Albert Einstein “goodness, beauty and truth” illuminated the world; “If you want to be happy, exercise compassion,” said the Dalai Lama; “When words are both true and kind, they change the world,” said the Buddha.
The writer Henry James said that three things are important in human life: “The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind. “
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others,” added Gandhi.
How do we change the world? Well, possibly one random act of kindness after another.
A great many people agree, and as we approach World Kindness Day on November 13th, it is worth considering how kindness could be the solution to many of humanity’s problems. If we were all kind, we certainly would not need wars of aggression or a hierarchical society based on unfair power structures that require the exploitation and domination of one group over others; Every capitalist hierarchy is built on an impoverished underclass at its base so that the elite at the top can dominate while drinking champagne on private yachts.
One could ask the Tory government what the kindness lies in slashing the universal credit surge by £ 20, plunging thousands of families into poverty while the rich put money in offshore accounts and money for ridiculous nonsense like gold-plated toilet seats and Hand out caviar and facelifts as children go hungry around the world. Such profanity makes it clear that we do not live in a world that has made kindness its top priority.
The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation (RAK) is a small Colorado-based nonprofit that was founded in the 1990s and invests time, expertise and resources in its mission to “Make Kindness the Norm” (visit www.randomactsofkindness.org ). It aims to promote kindness in schools, workplaces, and communities by emphasizing how it could uplift people, make them happier and healthier, improve wellbeing, and change the way we live for the better.
“There are scientifically proven benefits to being kind,” said one of its ambassadors, Stanford University Assistant Professor of Psychology, Jamil Zaki. “The positive effects of kindness are felt in the brains of all witnesses of the crime, improving their mood and making them more likely to pass it on. This means that one good deed in a crowded area can create a domino effect and make dozens of people’s day better. “
In addition, studies show that witnessing kind acts produces oxytocin, sometimes referred to as the “love hormone,” which helps lower blood pressure and improve our overall heart health. Oxytocin also increases our self-esteem and optimism, which is especially helpful when we are anxious or shy in a social situation.
“About half of the participants in one study said they felt stronger and more energetic after helping others; many also reported feeling calmer and less depressed, with increased self-esteem, ”observed Christine Carter of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.
A 2010 survey by Harvard Business School Fortunately in 136 countries found that people who are altruistic – in this case, people who have been financially generous, such as with charitable donations, were happiest overall; When we give something back, we feel better.
“Helping others protects general health twice as much as aspirin protects against heart disease,” says author Christine Carter in her book Raising Happiness. “People aged 55 and over who volunteer for two or more organizations have an impressive 44% lower chance of dying early after weeding out all other factors, including physical health, exercise, gender, habits like smoking, Marital status and much more. . That is a stronger effect than doing sports or going to church four times a week. ”
According to a study by Emory University, when you are kind to another person, your brain’s pleasure and reward centers light up, as if you were the recipient of the good deed – not the giver. This phenomenon is known as “helper high”.
And like most medicinal antidepressants, kindness stimulates the production of serotonin. This feel-good chemical heals your wounds, soothes you, and makes you happy.
Participation in kind acts produces endorphins, which are the brain’s natural pain reliever. So not only can kindness give you a long life, it can also reduce the brain’s perception of pain.
And kindness helps reduce stress: People who are always kind have 23% less cortisol (the stress hormone) and age more slowly than the average population, according to a study by the journal Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science from 1998. Kindness can also reduce anxiety and depression and High blood pressure, according to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.
A group of very anxious people did at least six kindnesses a week. After a month, there was a significant increase in positive moods, relationship satisfaction, and a decrease in social avoidance in socially anxious individuals – according to a study by the University of British Columbia.
Meanwhile, Stephen Post of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine found that everything from life satisfaction to self-actualization to physical health improves dramatically when we give of ourselves.
World Kindness Day, held annually on November 13th, is an international holiday that was established in 1998 to promote kindness around the world and is celebrated as part of the World Kindness Movement. It is observed in many countries including the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, and here in the UK.
The day gives us the opportunity to reflect on one of the most important unifying human principles.
In 2019 the World Kindness Movement was registered as an official NGO under Swiss law, but the group’s history dates back to a 1997 congress in Tokyo. A number of institutions from different countries have been in society for their commitment to friendliness. This resulted in the World Kindness Movement. World Kindness Day consists of “highlighting good deeds in community that focus on the common thread of kindness that binds us”.
While this day is currently being celebrated unofficially, the movement’s hope remains to achieve official recognition status by the United Nations.
So above all try to be kind, it’s revolutionary.
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